re: Federal employees whining--

quote:We do need much more small government leadership and a focus in government protective of liberty.

I absolutely agree with this! I'm a fiscal and social conservative who would love nothing more than to see the private sector grow and the public sector shrink.

I have a master's degree and would love to use my knowledge and experience in the private sector. However, at this time there isn't a whole lot out there. It's a vicious cycle; the government enacts policies that negatively affect private sector growth. So, those of us who would love to leave the public sector for the private sector are unable to do so because the economic climate caused by the very government we work for prevents us from doing just that...it's crazy.

I communicate with my representatives when I feel strongly about issues. Like many others, I'm frustrated because I feel my voice is being silenced along with many other concerned citizens.

The reason we're doomed is because very few actually even understand what is going on.

Say, for instance, that I am the only taxpayer. I pay $1 million a year in taxes. Based on that tax base, the government goes out and hires ten government workers at $100k each. The government then "taxes" them at the rate of $40k each per year. So, now the government adds the revenue from those "taxes" on the government workers and says that it has $1.4 million in revenues.

Next year, it takes that $1.4 million in revenues and hires four more workers at $100k each to collect taxes from all the others. It taxes them at $40k each and the next year it says that it has $1.56 million in revenues.

So, the government then wants to spend more, and it goes to the bank and borrows $5 million and uses the $1.56 million it says that it will collect in taxes as collateral to get the money. With the money it borrows, it hires scores more workers, taxes them, adds their totals to its "revenues" and uses those "revenues" as collateral for more loans.

And of course, all of these people working for the government go out and buy things from people and those people then make money and it is taxed and those taxes are then added to the so-called government revenue and calculation of the GDP.

And this whole entire giant house of cards, this great inverted pyramid, is built on the back of me, the one guy paying $1 million in taxes to start with. If I collapse, then the whole thing collapses because no one really is making any money. Their money is illusory. All built on the one guy actually out there doing something.

All the government workers may be good people trying to do the best job they know how. And they may actually be doing great and wonderful things, but it is a house of cards. It isn't real.

Our whole system is like that. It is only possible because there is no real money. And because there is no real money, it is doomed to collapse eventually. And when it does, a 20% cut in pay will be the last of anyone's worries.

We can't stop the collapse. It is coming. We might can delay it indefinitely if we wised up, realized the pickle we were in, and started trying to back away from the ledge. But, as this sequester thing so aptly shows, no one even wants to acknowledge that there is a ledge, least of all those in charge.

quote:When did any of his co-workers move backward in civil service grade?

He and a few of his co-workers moved back in pay grade when flight service was contracted out to Lockheed Martin back in 04-05. He had just moved up to the pay grade below where he was at when the pay freeze was enacted back in '09.

quote:Not every federal worker over the last 30 years have been model employees.

I could say the same for the private sector. And my father is a big advocate of firing federal employees who suck at their jobs. I'm in favor of some kind of reform that makes it much easier to fire a federal worker.

Panhandle i do hate to see anyone have to take a cut and i hope the best for you. Reading what you say here makes me think that you'll be ok. And i 100% agree that its bull shite the way the top dogs hurt ya'll 1st instead of really cutting the waste. And we as Americans should take every chance we have to call our so called laeders and bitch to them. Until enough of us start screaming nothing will change.

quote:Our whole system is like that. It is only possible because there is no real money. And because there is no real money, it is doomed to collapse eventually. And when it does, a 20% cut in pay will be the last of anyone's worries.

We can't stop the collapse. It is coming. We might can delay it indefinitely if we wised up, realized the pickle we were in, and started trying to back away from the ledge. But, as this sequester thing so aptly shows, no one even wants to acknowledge that there is a ledge, least of all those in charge.

I have become convinced that they truly don't think Americans could handle the cuts we really need. There will be no meaningful deficit reduction. They would rather it all collapse on it's own and wait for that time to point the fingers.

No. He's one of the guys who investigates and disciplines air traffic controllers who fall asleep on the job or screw up. He also inspects airports and makes sure their safety precautions are up to FAA regulations.

yup my parents both put in 30+ years working for the the gov't DoD and other agencies. Mom a GS-15 Dad was a 14 now retired as well with 20 years military. Two of the hardest working people ive ever met.

My bro in law is a government worker and this is going to effect him, probably significantly. But after years of watching the way these government departments have been run, I'm torn on how I feel about it. If that place was a private company they would have gone under in the first year. n

quote:My father is a Federal employee. He started with next to nothing in terms of salary almost 30 years ago. For nearly 30 years he worked his arse off and rose through the ranks. He wasn't an arse kisser, he didn't talk his way into promotions, he worked his way into them. Now he brings home six figures. Yeah...he didn't do it in the private sector, but how is what he did and what he went through any different from what an ordinary Joe does out there in a non-government job?

Problem is that private sector employees show up and hour earlier, stay an hour later, skip lunch, and keep people happy and the numbers positive to keep their jobs. They do that with less vacation and less benefits and a hell of a lot less security.